Why Do I Read?

[thegreatmissjj]

Originally posted at Uncreated Conscience.

As Rachel and I were going through our morning routine today, we were listening with half an ear to The Today Show blathering on about South Carolinan Representative Joe Wilson calling President Obama a liar during his healthcare reform speech. I then recalled watching this incredible video by ThoughtBubble.org, which animated YA author John Green’s video discussing the state of American healthcare.

Click to view

The rest of the morning was spent introducing my roommate to the awesome that are the VlogBrothers John and Hank Green. This, of course, prompted me to watch some of my favourite Brotherhood 2.0 videos when I stumbled across one of John’s videos about THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger.

In response to the comment/criticism that Holden Caulfield, the narrator of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, is unlikeable, I regret to inform you that you are also unlikeable.

So am I.

There’s this weird, but pervasive feeling in the world of contemporary coming-of-age fiction that characters ought to be either the person you want to be or the person you want to be with. [...]

[Holden Caulfield] is the guy you secretly know yourself to be.

A few weeks ago, Sarah Rees Brennan wrote a great essay called “Ladies, Please (Carry On Being Awesome)” about (specifically female) response to female characters in fiction. She later followed up on Twitter asking about character identification and whether it was necessary to enjoy a book.

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